Better Than Revenge
by MusicalDeleria
Summary: THIS IS A REMAKE OF REDEMPTION!  I know the first few chapters are short, but there will be plantiful chapters and possibly more lengthy ones later on    Please enjoy & review!  This is ZimxOC not DibxOC  CHAPTERS FOUND, NEW UPDATES IN THE WORKS :
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Thunder roared in the distance as little feet padded through puddles on the cement. The little girl in her pink rain-boots sloshing water around cheerily, a bright smile lighting her face.  
>She walked up the driveway of a house with bright, sunny yellow shutters, passing the front door and kneeling in front of a hydrangea bush. Her hand disappeared in the greenery, coming back with a small rock with a hidden cover in the bottom. Retrieving the key from it she replaced the stone and made her way up the steps of the small porch. She had to stand on her toes to reach the keyhole, holding to the knob to keep her balance.<br>The door opened with a click, swinging open slowly to allow her entrance.  
>"Mamma, daddy, I'm home," She called, her voice drifting through the hall like a melody.<br>Her hat and coat were thrown haphazardly on the floor at the entrance, her rain-boots left on as she clomped down the hall.  
>"Mamma, daddy?" Her boot lost traction as she stepped into an unseen puddle, she caught herself on a piece of crown molding on the wall. She continued on toward the kitchen, the puddle seeming to be rather large, and she wondered if maybe daddy had left the sink running again.<br>She turned the corner into the kitchen, reaching up and flicking the light-switch on with the tips of her fingers.  
>Her stomach flipped, the color draining from her face. Her fingers still brushed the edge of the switch as her body stood rigid and unmoving in the doorway.<br>Her eyes burned painfully, wide and unable to look away, her gaze stayed on the ground in front of her, bathed in red. It was everywhere, a sea of bright maroon, and she was standing in the middle of it.  
>Little hiccupy gasps escaped through her parted lips until they became full blown sobs as the tears started.<br>She baked away, shaking her head as her tears tried to blur her view. She turned and stumbled forward, running, throwing open the door, crossing the neighbor's lawn, not stopping when she reaches the door, pounding small fists against the wood.  
>Getting no answer she ran to the next house, and the next house, and the next. Desperate sobs choked her as she crumbled onto the cement of someone's porch. Not one person answered her cries for help, either not hearing or not caring.<br>The rain washed away her tears having long stopped falling.  
>A hand reached up to grip the slick railing above her, pulling herself up to stand on unstable legs.<br>She was wasting time, her mind was muddled, she couldn't even remember what she was supposed to do in this situation.  
>If I can just make it back to his house everything will be ok, she thought, he'll know what to do, he always does.<br>She pushed herself off from the banister, her feet hitting the ground running. Her breathing hitched as she gasped on air, she fell several times, gravel embedding itself into her knees, but she ran on. She did not slow her pace until her foot touched the first step leading to the house. Her fist slammed against the door repetitively until she hit something soft.  
>"Ouch, what did I do to deserve that?" A voice asked jokingly.<br>"D-dib!" The girl choked out, throwing her arms around the older boy and sobbing into his shirt.  
>"Kiria?" He gasped, his arms tightening around her shaking form. "What's wrong? Ria, what happened?"<br>Her breath hitched, she tried to speak but all that came out were gasps and choked sobs. Dib held her more securely, running his fingers through her hair comfortingly. Her breathing became regulated enough that she attempted to speak again.  
>"M-momma and d-daddy, t-they were on the g-ground, they weren't moving and I d-didn't know what to do!" She sobbed. "No one would help me so I r-ran here, I didn't know w-what to do Dib, I didn't know what to do!" Her arms tightened around him and she grasped handfuls of fabric in her small fists, collapsing into gasping tears again.<br>"Geeez Dib, what's with all the crying? Did you lose your stupid field notes or something?"  
>"Gaz, go get dad, now!" He said to the short purple haired girl behind him.<br>Her eyes locked on the sobbing form of the girl in her brother's arms, freezing her in her tracks.  
>"Gaz! Hurry!"<br>She turned and ran further into the house while her brother tried to lead the girl to the living room.  
>When he finally got her to the couch and sat her down he sat next to her. She leaned into him, her head on his shoulder as he held her, letting her stain his tee shirt with more tears and rain. Eventually her breathing calmed and her body slumped against him in sleep as she drifted into darkness in the arms of her best friend.<p>

When she woke she found herself surrounded by noise and she grumbled sleepily in annoyance of the interruption. She rubbed her eyes with small fists in the cute way little kids do after napping, realizing her head and shoulders lay on Dib's lap while he continued to stroke her hair. He was staring ahead of them, distracted by the grownups running around in front of them.  
>"Dib...? Was going on?" She asked sleepily, sitting up and facing him.<br>"They're here to help find out what happened..." He said, looking away. "With your parents..."  
>Just like that everything from the past 12 hours came flooding back to her. Her expression sobered and she looked seriously at her best friend, more seriously than a 7 year old should ever have to be. "So when are the doctors gonna be done helping them Dib?" She asked. "Can we go see them now?"<br>He flinched and pulled her closer so she was sitting on his lap, he refused to look at her.  
>"Dib...? Mamma and daddy are ok right?" It wasn't until she saw the small tear slide down his cheek that she broke down. She cried until her eyes were dry and red, until all she felt were the stinging lacerations of pain and sorrow; she was grateful when sleep finally covered her in it's healing blanket of protection again.<p>

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Kiria dear, I simply can not see how you can stand living in this house again," Said the prim and proper business woman in front of me. Her auburn hair twisted into a perfect bun at the nape of her neck, not a piece out of place. The skirt suit she wore was free of any lint or loose strings, perfectly pressed seams, every button on her suit done up.  
>She looked nervously around the entryway cluttered with marked packing boxes, tugging at her collar uncomfortably.<br>"This is what I want, Karin. You didn't have to come with me," I say, opening random boxes and checking their contents.  
>She gasped, staring open mouthed at me; her gaze momentarily flickered to the small blade in my hands I was opening boxes with, her brows furrowing in distaste. "Kiria, your only seventeen! I am obligated as your guardian to-"<br>"I already had a god-father you know! You didn't have to 'take me in'!" I said, raising up to stand face to face with her. "Sorry I'm just an obligation to you," I spat, pocketing the blade and storming upstairs.  
>Her calls to me fall on deaf ears as I walk down the hall, trailing my fingers along the wall and doors as I pass. I stop when my fingertips graze the door of my parent's old room, tears surfacing in my eyes. I take a breath and blink them away, continuing to the room at the end of the hall and pushing open the door on a released breath.<br>The room is a little smaller than I remembered it, probably because the last time I was here I was seven; It's still a lot bigger than the room in the apartment I used to live in with Karin.  
>All the rooms in the house had been cleaned and dusted recently by the crew she had hired once it was finalized that we would be living here, I had told them to exclude my parents room though. That was something I had to do on my own, I wanted to leave their room as undisturbed as possible.<br>My room was furnished barrenly, a purple and pink rug lay draped across the hardwood and thin purple curtains hung over the window-box and it's cushions. My new black stained wood bed and mattress was off to the side, only the front end of the bed touching the walls that had been painted alternating black, grey, and blue with large blooming roses on two walls.  
>I plopped my backpack onto the rug and laid down next to it, my fingers trailing absentmindedly through the shag as my eyes slowly fell closed.<br>An echoing knock pulled me back to reality before the doorknob turned with a click.  
>"Go away, Karin," I sigh, feeling my last remnants of peace evaporate.<br>"I'm no Karin miss, but I can just leave this here if you want me to leave," one of the movers chuckled, leaning against a black side table just outside of the doorway.  
>"Oh!" I gasp, my eyes flying open as I sit up stark straight on the floor. "I'm so sorry! I just thought you were, never mind..." I mumble blushing in embarrassment.<br>"S'ok miss, we all have our days now and again," He says cheerily, moving the table into the room.  
>"Tell me about it," I mumble under my breath.<br>"So where do ya want this miss?"  
>"Against the wall next to the bed if you don't mind,"<br>He sets down his load and turns to leave the room. "Chin up miss, nothin's ever bad as it seems," He smiles kindly before continuing on his way.  
>"I have a hard time believing that," I sigh to myself with a halfhearted smile. "Well, time to get this place together,"<p>

...

"Oh! What is this dinky thing doing in the Cabinet?" Karin says. She had been in the kitchen 'straightening up' for an hour now.  
>"Kiria, do something with this," She says, holding out a clump of dust between her thumb and index finger.<br>"What is it?" I sigh.  
>She doesn't answer, simply tossing it on the floor next to me where I'm hooking up the TV and PS3 in the living room. I give up on untangling the wires for now and look over at the clump of dust. It has something shining at the middle so I pick it up, curiosity gripping me as I pick away the pieces of gray fluff.<br>A startled gasp escapes my lips as the object is revealed. It's my mother's ring. A shiny white gold loop with a small sapphire setting atop surrounded by beautiful rose detail work in the metal. It was the ring my dad gave her for their one year anniversary, she almost never took it off but she'd lost it just a week before...  
>Tears well up in my eyes again and this time I let them fall. Through blurred vision I slid the ring onto my third finger on my right hand, turning it this way and that to watch it catch the light.<br>I never once took it off, not even at dinner, or when Karin snapped at me about wearing something so distasteful. I bit back the remark hanging on the tip of my tongue, Instead only rolling my eyes at her.  
>She knew nothing, this ring was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. It calmed me, holding so many memories of my mom in it. I remember it gleaming in the moonlight when she would pull the blankets across me as she was tucking me in at night. Having this little piece of her almost made it feel like she was still here.<br>As I drifted off to sleep I could have sworn I heard her singing our lullaby to me...

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Were could it be?" I groan, tossing shoes into a pile on the rug. "Oh! Found it!" I grin victoriously, tossing the now found shoe on my bed with the other black glitter Tom.  
>I brush the imaginary dust off my black skinny jeans and purple lace top, adjusting the straps on the cami underneath which cut just a little too low due to the straps being too loose.<br>Slipping on my Toms I hop over to the mirror, running my fingers through my messy blond hair with one hand and pulling on my left shoe with the other.  
>"Alright, time to go," I sigh, slinging my small backpack over my shoulder.<br>As soon as I have my iPod and a cup of coffee in hand I leave the house, I have I couple blocks to walk so I put in my headphones and turn up the music.

God, this place is freezing! The skool's main office in the front part of the building and has to be about twenty degrees colder than the rest of the skool. The staff all look like they want to kill themselves, the lady at the registration desk looks ready to do it for them, and that's exactly where I have to go. Oh joy.  
>"Um, excuse me?"<br>"What da ya want?" She grumbles, annoyed. Limp gray-brown hair plastered to her forehead with sweat as though it's sweltering in here. Her crooked yellow teeth gnash angrily.  
>"I just transferred here recently, but my schedule was never sent to my new address."<br>"Name." She demands gruffly.  
>"Kiria Sinclair,"<br>"Grade."  
>"Eleventh,"<br>She sighed heavily as she pecked the information into the computer, the printer behind her then emitting a loud buzz as several documents fell into the tray below. Swiveling around in her chair she grabbed them up, slapping the papers down on the counter in front of me.  
>"This," She said, highlighting the second row on one of the pages. "Is your first period, this is where you will be going first today, every other day after this you will go to homeroom first. She then highlighted both classes on the map, proceeding to do so with every other class down the list. "Those are your A day classes, on B day you will go to these classes in the order that they are listed." She repeated the earlier process, this time in pink highlighter.<br>"Class begins in five minutes, I suggest you not be late."  
>"I won't, thank you," I say, taking the papers from her.<br>Geeez, what crawled up her butt? Anyway, let's see, first off Mrs. Collin's AP English.

First period, normally one of my favorite classes was dulled, only by the fact that some sleezeball jock wouldn't stop turning around in his seat to stare at me. Luckily Mrs. C said something to him before I had to and made him pass out our books for the year. The bad part, I had to carry ten novel sized books around with me for the rest of the day. I had to admit though, I liked Mrs. Collins so far.

I leafed through the papers with my class information as I walked through the halls during class change, sticking close to the lockers and out of the way. Ok, so next is Universal Theory, and that is... Room B124.  
>Just as I'm about to look up I bump into something my school work and papers scatter around me on the ground.<br>Across from me on the floor I see a pair of black boots, belonging to the person in front of me. His head bowed, looking around on the floor. He wears a long black trench-coat and a blue tee.  
>"I am so sorry!" I say, leaning forward to look him over. "Are you alright?"<br>I spot a pair of glasses next to my copy of 'Jane Eyre' and hold them out to him.  
>His gaze moves up to my outstretched hand so that I can finally get a good look at his face as he places the glasses back on his nose.<br>My breath catches as recognition lights up my eyes. I don't want to move, or even breathe, afraid that the slightest motion will shatter the scene around me. I'm afraid that if I say the name caught on my lips that I will be wrong. But I can't be wrong, I am certain I am right, but I'm still held there, trapped inside myself. If I let myself believe this I know it will eventually be taken away, just like they were.  
>"Ria...?"<br>But with one word, I am made to accept it, there is no turning back, I'm too weak to have ignored it anyway. It was inevitable. So I give in and let myself have what I deserve, some semblance of normalcy from a past life; for however long it may last.  
>"Dib!" A huge smile tugs at my lips as I almost tackle him into a hug. There is only half a second's hesitation before he's hugging me back. He begins asking question after question and I have to pull back and lock gazes with him before he will stop.<br>"I've been ok, I didn't call because your number changed, I didn't tell you I was transferring here because I thought you'd moved, and I missed you too Dib, very much." It was impossible for me to wipe the smile from my face.  
>"What class do you have this period?" He asked after helping me gather up my things.<br>"Universal Theory, with..."  
>"Ms. Bitters," He finishes for me as I'm looking down my class list. "We have the same class," He grins.<p>

Surprisingly we make it to class on time. On the way Dib filled me in on what to expect from Ms. Bitter's class, having had her in elementary skool before she was switched to teaching at the high skool.  
>We walked in to a room of rowdy teenagers blasting music from their iPods, playing Gameslaves, and yelling to the groups of people around them. Behind the teacher's desk was a gray hairs old woman hunched over in her chair, she seemed to be glaring at a pidgin on her desk.<br>There was one kid who wasn't taking part in any of the adolescent behavior around us. He sat alone at the seat closest to the door. His skin was a strange mint color; he wore a dark and light red hoodie with thick horizontal stripes, black boot cut jeans and black boots.  
>He was the first to notice us enter the room, glaring at Dib menacingly.<br>A moment later the room hushed as everyone else seemed to notice our entrance, only, they were staring at me.  
>Oh the curse of being 'the new kid' in a small town. Though I probably went to Skool with most if these kids, but that was years ago. I was different now, and I was 'new', a novelty in a place like this.<br>The bell rang and I quickly followed Dib across the room to two empty seats in the front row.  
>Ms. Bitters finally looked away from the pigeon and it flew to the back of the room.<br>All eyes were still on me, making me squirm in my chair.  
>"I can see that I won't be able to start class with all you worthless monkeys staring at the new girl." Her voice is like gravel scraping against sand paper as she scrutinizes the class. "You!" She points a bony, claw like, finger at me. "Come up here and introduce yourself to the class so we can get started with our horrible lesson."<br>Damn...  
>I reluctantly stand and take my place in front of the class. "My name is Kiria Sinclair, I'm sixteen, and I hate long introductions."<br>"Now class, we will be talking about space, and how it will eventually IMPLODE in on itself." Bitters starts as I make my way back to my seat.  
>The class drags on as Ms. Bitters drones on and on about how doomed we all are, no one seems to be paying attention and she doesn't seem to care.<br>I can still feel everyone's stairs piercing my back, making my skin crawl, so I look to the only one in the room not focused on me.  
>It's not his skin that stands out about him the most, it's his undeniable presence. The almost palpable sense of power, arrogance, and confidence radiating off of him in waves.<br>He looks up and blue eyes meet my green, narrowing as he scrutinizes me, he looks away as though he has just judged me after a second's glance and found me beneath him.  
>"That's Zim," Dib says leaning over to whisper to me. Zim's name comes out like a curse on his lips. "He's an alien," He states plainly, as though he'd just said 'That's Joe, he's a vet.'.<br>"What?" I ask, assuming I'd heard him wrong.  
>"I said he's an alien, you know, a disgusting space creature from another universe? Well, I don't actually know where his home planet is, but from what I've gathered it's nowhere near our galaxy."<br>At this Zim glares down at his desk, griping his pencil so tightly it snaps between black gloved fingers. It's not possible he could hear us, right?  
>"I'm not sure I'm ready to believe that just yet Dib," I say with a small smile. Dib had always been interested in the paranormal, he had case files going back to when he was two and they were just scribbles. There was definitely something strange about Zim, but I wasn't ready to accept that he was something otherworldly.<br>Dib's eyes saddened. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?" His eyes lowered to the desk. "Just like the rest of them," His hands clenched into fists on his lap.  
>"Dib Membrane, what has gotten into you?" I chide, "Why would I ever think that of my best friend?" At this he relaxes, though still refuses to look up or meet my gaze.<br>"You better look at me, and you better smile," I say. "You know I hate being the adult." I see a small smile tug at his lips at this. "Besides, this is hardly the way to treat someone you haven't seen in nine years,"  
>"I'm sorry, I'm just so used to no one believing me. They all think I'm crazy," He gives a lopsided grin the hurt still showing through.<br>"You should know me better than that," My voice holds a hint of disappointment but I smile nonetheless.  
>He scrambles for words to make amends but I interrupt him. "It's ok, apology accepted. Just don't let it happen again," I say, playfully punching his shoulder.<br>"Deal," He smiles back, rubbing his arm.

My next class was AP psychology, luckily I had that class with Dib too; I also had class with the creep jock from first period.  
>He sat behind me this time so he could stair without being scolded.<br>Mrs. Fue didn't take side conversations when she was talking, which was a lot. Needless to say Dib and I didn't get much time to talk.  
>When the bell for B lunch rang I felt instantly reenergized, hardly able to stand still as I waited for Dib in front of his desk.<br>"Finally, I've been waiting for lunch all day!" I grin on the way to the cafeteria.  
>"About that, the lunches aren't exactly edible," He makes a face.<br>"What school lunches are? I brought lunch anyway," I say, pushing open the double doors.  
>We find a table and I start to unpack my lunch, some chips and a sandwich. "Darn, I forgot a drink." I pull out my wallet and toss my bag onto the table. "I'll be right back," I smile sheepishly at him.<br>I walk to one of the shorter lines, putting my hand through the wrist strap on my wallet.  
>"I said, give me the damn food." A gruff voice says ahead of me.<br>"No, this is Zim's disgusting earth filth,"  
>Zim? I look around the girl in front of me to see the jock creep from before towering over the supposed 'alien' who was fiercely griping an orange lunch tray, glaring daggers at the creep. He had to be somewhere around six feet plus though since Zim definitely wasn't short.<br>The jock looked about ready to start throwing punches, it wasn't about a tray of food anymore, it was that his sense of 'authority' was being questioned.  
>I stepped in front of them, facing glaring up at the creepy jerk, making my '5 "6 height seem minuscule.<br>"Are you sure you don't wanna back off?" I ask getting up in his face.  
>His eyes widen and a stupid clueless look spreads across his face. "What?" He asks, spreading the word out into three syllables.<br>"I said," I stand on my toes leaning closer. "Are you sure you don't wanna back the fuck off?" I ask plainly.  
>He looks shocked and an what I hope is an embarrassed blush floods his cheeks.<br>"And while your at it, stop staring at me in class, it's creepy. Besides, it's never gonna happen so quit thinking about it."  
>He blushes more feverishly and this time I know it's not from being embarrassed. Eww.<br>He walks off to the rest of his jock friends spooked.  
>I sigh and take a calming breath before turning to Zim. "Sorry about that, I just had to say something to him, he is such a creep."<br>He is staring at me with a perplexed look and I mentally slap my forehead. "I hope I wasn't overstepping there," I say, twisting my mother's ring around on my finger.  
>"Zim could have handled it without assistance." He says. "Though your effort does not go unnoticed and Zim..." He seems to struggle forming words for a second before he grudgingly continues. "Thanks you." He then turns away, pays for his lunch, and walks to an empty table across the cafeteria.<br>That was strange. I pay for a bottled water and walk back to our table across from Dib, a girl with long purple hair and dressed in black sits next to him playing her game slave.  
>"When'd you get here?" She asks without looking up. As though it hadn't been nine years since we last saw each other.<br>"Wednesday," I answer.  
>"You coming over later?"<br>"Sure,"  
>"Just got Vampire Piggies 9,"<br>"Play you in versus?"  
>"Yeah."<br>"Cool,"  
>And that was Gaz's way of welcoming me back, I liked that about her though, it made me feel like I never left; or was dragged out kicking and screaming.<br>"So," I look at Dib, uncapping my water. "Why does Zim speak in the third person?"

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	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, here is chapter four, yay! Now, Very important, they're going to be an author's note at the bottom that you should probably read, also if you have questions concerning this chapter or others then they will probably be answered in the author's note at the bottom ^^ And one more thing! I would like to thank Clarindiah, irken black, Milanord, & Music lover3212 for reviewing, and adding to favorites & alets! Thank you so much! X3**

_~Winner. Player Two.~_ A robotic female voice announces.  
>"You're pretty good," Gaz says, returning to the game menu on the tv screen.<br>"Pretty good? That's the first time I've beaten you out of thirty matches," I deadpan.  
>"Yeah, but no one's ever beaten me," She smirks deviantly.<br>Shrill bell tones repetitively chime over the sound of the title music from the game.  
>"Damn," I sigh, checking the caller name on my phone. "I'm gonna take a break," I say over my shoulder as I head to the kitchen.<br>"Hello?"  
>"Kiria? Where are you?"<br>I sigh heavily into the receiver. "I'm at a friend's house Karin,"  
>"What? Who's house?"<br>"Dib's, you know, my god-brother." I sigh.  
>"What?" This seems to slow her down; I can almost hear the gears turning in her head. "You never told me you weren't coming straight home," She finally replies.<br>"I texted you before I left skool."  
>"No, I- oh. I guess you did,"<br>"Uh huh, listen, I'll be home before nine, I'm gonna go now."  
>There is silence on the other end for a moment and I start to think the call's been dropped. "Bye," She finally says.<br>"Later,"  
>I end the call, stuff my phone into my pocket, and walk back to the living room.<br>"That bad?" Gaz asks, punching in combo attacks on the GSH controller.  
>"Yup," I sigh, plopping down on the couch next to her.<br>Just then the door flies open, Dib walking in triumphantly.  
>"What's got you in such a good mood?" I ask<br>"Proof!" He exclaims, shoving a camera in my face. "Proof that Zim's an alien!"  
>"Zim has a robot?" Tilting my head to better see the crooked image on the screen.<br>"Yes! Wait, no. I mean yes but-"  
>I take the camera from him and scroll through the pictures, the first one was of a little robot with teal eyes and a rubber piggy on its head, the next a picture of a TV screen showing a very angry monkey, and then a taco, the last one was of the little robot eating the taco. "All I see are robots, monkeys, and tacos,"<br>Dib gasps, "He didn't!" He says in disbelief.  
>"Who didn't?"<br>"GIR! He must've taken my camera when I was fighting through the security systems! That robot actually did something intelligent for once."  
>By now I was incredibly confused; I didn't even bother asking about the security systems.<br>Next to me Gaz growled in annoyance.  
>"Come on! I'll just have to see if anything showed upon the spy cams!" He said, dragging me up the stairs.<br>"You have cameras in his house?" I exclaim, aghast that he would go to such lengths, and commit such a violation of privacy. Then again, this was Dib I was talking about.  
>His room hadn't changed much since the last time I was in here. There were a few more computer monitors mounted above the space around his desk. It was dark apart from the soft glow of screens, many of them displaying strange symbols forming endless paragraphs of text.<br>I take a seat on the end of the bed, watching Dib as he walks back and forth from machine to machine, checking monitor screens and typing things into keyboards.  
>The screens around his desk suddenly begin to blink awake. One of the screens is showing a little green and black, dog? It's running around a very oddly colored room on two legs and rolling around on the floor.<br>Dib grumbles, kicking a tall machine sterile by the desk with the heel of his boots. There is a wheezing mechanical sound then there is screeching and squealing heard from the speakers.  
>I think that it's the speakers malfunctioning at first and cover my ears, but I realize after a moment that it's the dog on screen making the defining noise.<br>"Woooooooo! I'm running! I'm running! Wahoooooooo!"  
>"What, is that..?" I asked, transfixed by the screen.<br>"That's GIR, in his 'disguise mode'"  
>"GIR? You mean the little robot…? Oh Dib no, this is so wrong,"<br>"Ria," He sighs, frustrated.  
>"It's an invasion of privacy Dib, not to mention its illegal," I say shaking my head.<br>"He's an alien bent on taking over earth Kiria, he doesn't get privacy, I'm doing this to protect everyone!" He says, exasperated. "And maybe a little bit so I can perform his autopsy," He mumbles. "But still, he's dangerous Kiria." He sighs and kneels in front of me. "Please just understand,"  
>I stay silent, mulling over the thoughts cluttering my mind. There are so many I can't think straight. I lock gazes with Dib and his expression is of someone who knows they've already been beat. I've never seen him look so, defeated.<br>"I understand," I say. "I'll support you no matter what, but I still have to decide for myself If I'm ready to believe what you've told me about Zim,"  
>He opens his mouth to respond but I silence him. "I wasn't finished yet," I say with a small smile. "I do believe you a little more now, actually I know you're probably right, but I'm stubborn, I have to take something like this one step at a time."<br>Dib stares at me quizzically and at first I think I've said something wrong, but then he breaks out into a lopsided grin. "You haven't changed a bit Ri," He shakes his head in amusement.  
>"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, feigning offense. "I am a lady, I'm not seven years old anymore," I stifle a giggle and grin at him.<br>He laughs with me, "Like I said, same old Ria,"  
>"Whatever bro," I laugh, play punching his arm.<br>"Geez Ri, use a little restraint," He jokes, rubbing his sore arm.  
>"Sorry, guess I don't know my own strength," I shrug, a sly smile tugging at the corners of my lips.<br>I haven't been this happy in a while; I was going to enjoy it as much as I could before it was gone.

"Hey Dib?"  
>"Yeah?" He answers.<br>"I was wondering, there's this thing I've been working on, do you think you could maybe help me with it?" I ask, twisting my ring around on my finger.  
>"Of course, but what is it?"<br>"You'll have to wait and see," I grin.  
>"Can I get a hint?" He asks, curious.<br>"Nope," I smile, "Just meet me after skool in front of the lot," And then my phone rings for the second time that night. Guess who?  
>"What is it Karin?"<br>"Where are you? You're supposed to be home by now."  
>I pull the phone away from my ear to check the time. "It's 9:01 Karin," I sigh.<br>"Yes, and you said you would be back one minute ago!" She freaks.  
>"I didn't mean exactly at nine, it was an estimate. I didn't think you'd be spazzing out if I wasn't perfectly on time," I say, slumping into the couch.<br>"Well you thought wrong, the time you tell me is the time you will be home and inside the house."  
>"Fine, whatever Karin, I'm leaving now," I hang up. "She is insane," I grumble. "I wish I could've stayed with you guys. They only put me with her because she's my aunt." I sigh.<br>"Me too, it was pretty boring around here without you around," He says with a small smile. "At least until Zim got here, I still missed you though,"  
>Hearing him say he missed me made me smile to myself, but Zim's name being brought up sparked my curiosity. "How long has he been here?" I ask, turning to look at Dib.<br>"Five years," He says simply, the first time I've seen him so calm when talking about something relating to Zim. Maybe it was because I was the only person so far who even remotely believed him.  
>"So he's been trying to take over the earth for five years?" I say, "Doesn't sound like he's made much progress, he must not be a very good invader," I muse.<br>"You shouldn't underestimate him Ri, he's dangerous." He says, suddenly serious.  
>"Dib-"<br>"No, listen to me Kiria,"  
>I'm taken aback; he almost never called me Kiria, only when he was being truly serious would he use my full name.<br>"Alright, Dib, I'll be careful around him ok?"  
>He still won't look at me, his eyes were terrified.<br>"Dib, look at me. I promise ok? I promise,"  
>He nods, standing from his seat on the couch. "I'll walk you home,"<br>I frown and follow him to the door, picking up my bag off the floor and walking into the night.

**Ok, one. To anyone who might think Dib is OOC, just the fact that he had a really close friend growing up would have changed him at least a little, especially if that one person didn't think he was crazy and believed him most of the time. Also, He's seventeen now, so he's a little bit more… well for all intents and purposes let's just say beaten down by the world, I mean come on, he's been looked down on and called crazy for, at the least, 15 years of his life; he still hasn't given up though Obviously. ^^ **

**Next, Kiria & Dib's relationship. They've been best friends since they were like two, and as it's been revealed, Dib is her 'God-brother' They've also known each other so long they practically consider themselves siblings, hence Kiria calling him 'bro'. That's not to say it isn't possible for them to become attracted to each other, I mean, they aren't related at all, they only act like it. (I'm still debating the possibility story-wise, but I'm not the slightest bit sure either way ^^")**

**The whole 'like siblings' thing also explains Dib's reactions toward the end. As the 'older brother' He's very protective of Kiria in any potentially dangerous situation, especially concerning Zim (Who on numerous occasions has tried to orchestrate Dib's demise ^^") So of course he wants to protect her from him; Besides he's already trying to protect earth and they don't give a damn about him, but she is one of the few people who truly cares about him, so, yeah. ^^"**

**If you have any other complaints or questions not stated, please leave a comment or PM me, I'll be sure to answer ^^ **

**Also, sorry about there still being short chapters, but this felt like a good place to stop. On that note, please let me know If you think Frequent shortish to long chapters would be better than Longer less frequent chapters, I will try my best to accommodate your preference. ^^**

**P.S- Sorry the author's note is so long OTL.**


	5. Story Updates

Hello readers! Just an update on what to expect in the coming weeks :3

I'm beginning to come out of Hiatus mode and I'm ready to start creating new chapters for some of my 'older' stories I feel so terrible that it's been so long since some of these stories have had updates though and I want to apologize to all my readers, if you're still around

I've had a pretty rough time this past year dealing with some personal stuff and I'm just now starting to get over it. I was in a pretty bad slump and in that time span I pretty much abandoned my writing… I made a few attempts with a new story or two to get back into writing again but I just wasn't ready to write again at those times… But, I've been doing a bit of writing in my spare time and gone through dozens of old notebooks full of chapters from stories posted here as well as ones that hadn't quite made it yet. I've been editing and creating a bit of new content steadily over the past few months and I believe I can finally start creating new chapters for you guys again! That is if you're still interested after all this time ^^"

Some stories will be getting edited and revamped, and others will just be lightly revised and have new chapters added to them! :3

Just so you readers know what stories are at the forefront of my revision and new chapter writing plan here's a short list of the stories most likely to get new content in the coming weeks :3

Looking Glass, my Heart no Kuni no Alice story, I have a few more chapters laying around in a notebook that have yet to be typed up and submitted, with the clean up going smoothly I hope to get a new chapter out soon! :3

Glitch, my Homestuck fic, The next chapter is already under way so be on the lookout! :3

Frostbite, now this is a new story of mine that I've been working on for a few months, it's for Rise of The Guardians I feel like I have some good motivation going on this one, though I'd like to keep it as a little side project at first while I update past stories with new long awaited chapters! Though any ROTG fans out there be on the lookout! :3

Over & Over, a Shugo Chara fic, I honestly hadn't put much thought into this one until earlier when I received a few emails from about a user, KiraAmu-Chan, who'd added this to favorites and alerts. I went back to re-read and I was surprised how well this story has held up, I thought that since it's been so long since I wrote it that it'd be riddled with errors and poor writing, although, and some may say it's biased since I'm the author (In actuality though I'm my own worst critic… ^^") I actually enjoyed re-reading it, there were only a few typos but other than that the writing was sound and enjoyable, so, I'm adding this story to my priorities list as well! :3

The stories I've listed are not the only stories I will be updating and working on, just the ones you should expect to see updated the soonest, I hope to have each of the above updated with new chapters within the next month or two as I will continue to work on these and a few others simultaneously :3

There is also a poll up on the top of my profile for you to choose your favorite of my stories, and, the results of said poll may influence how high on my priorities list a story is and how soon a new chapter is released :3 You are allowed to pick two choices from the list, and if you've been waiting for a certain story to update it's probably a really good idea to vote for it in the poll! ;)

Thank you to those of you who have stuck with me and to my new readers as well! I promise to work hard to get new content out to you all soon!


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